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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203159">There's gonna come a day when you'll feel better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meverri/pseuds/meverri'>meverri</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Injury, Gen, Kidfic, More detailed warning in the author's notes, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, Racism/Xenophobia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:47:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meverri/pseuds/meverri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So your bed’s right there.”</p>
<p>Juno points at his own bed where it’s nestled into the corner. Jet argued that Juno shouldn’t have to give up his bed, but Juno’s shared with Ben before (especially in the last couple years, whenever he has dreams that Ben’s gone, taken somewhere Juno will never find him again), and Juno figures the new kid might want to sleep with his back against the wall or a knife under the pillow.</p>
<p>Peter Nureyev smiles. “Thank you,” he says, his voice all polished and shiny.</p>
<p>The kid’s sharp, smooth like the knife he showed them when he showed up. Juno doesn’t mind him having it, so long as its blade stays far away from Ben. </p>
<p>...</p>
<p>A brief sequel to loonylu's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567223">up the wolves</a>. Peter Nureyev stays with Jet, Juno, and Ben for a little while, and Peter and Juno learn to get along.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Benzaiten Steel &amp; Juno Steel, Mick Mercury &amp; Juno Steel &amp; Sasha Wire, Peter Nureyev &amp; Juno Steel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>There's gonna come a day when you'll feel better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonylu/gifts">loonylu</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567223">up the wolves</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonylu/pseuds/loonylu">loonylu</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy holidays, Luna! It's been really nice getting to know you this year :) I hope you enjoy this fic! </p>
<p>More detailed content warnings can be found in the end notes. Title is from the song "Up the Wolves" by the Mountain Goats.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So your bed’s right there.”</p>
<p>Juno points at his own bed where it’s nestled into the corner. Jet argued that Juno shouldn’t have to give up his bed, but Juno’s shared with Ben before (especially in the last couple years, whenever he has dreams that Ben’s gone, taken somewhere Juno will never find him again), and Juno figures the new kid might want to sleep with his back against the wall or a knife under the pillow.</p>
<p>Peter Nureyev smiles. “Thank you,” he says, his voice all polished and shiny.</p>
<p>The kid’s sharp, smooth like the knife he showed them when he showed up. Juno doesn’t mind him having it, so long as its blade stays far away from Ben. </p>
<p>That’s the other reason he’s giving up his bed. If he stays in Ben’s bed on the other side of the room, he can stay between Ben and Nureyev. He can keep an eye out if Nureyev gets up to any funny shit in the middle of the night. He’s got a couple inches on Nureyev, and he’s definitely stronger, going by the kid’s twig arms. The knife worries him, but the person carrying it doesn’t.</p>
<p>“You’ve been so welcoming, Juno,” says Nureyev. He sounds the way Sasha does around grown-ups or on the phone, when she takes on her mom’s voice to sound like she isn’t some random kid from Old Town. Juno hates it. He especially hates the way Nureyev says his name—<i>Ju</i>-no, like it’s sugar dissolving in his mouth.</p>
<p>“Yeah, well. Make yourself at home, I guess.”</p>
<p>Juno settles himself on Benten’s bed. He’ll miss his purple sheets, but Ben’s teal sheets are nice enough. He picks at them as Nureyev shoves his bag onto the bed and unzips it, and…</p>
<p>Huh.</p>
<p>Juno would have expected his clothes to be folded. Everything about Nureyev is neat, or it has been since he got to their apartment—he hadn’t exactly been <i>calm</i> and <i>collected</i> on Buddy’s ship, but to be fair, he had only just been kidnapped—and Juno wouldn’t have thought his clothes would be an exception, but the backpack is full of a few balled-up shirts, pants, and pairs of underwear, and it’s suspiciously empty of anything else.</p>
<p>Right. On the run from a neo-fascist government. Not a lot of time to pack.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t explain Nureyev shoving all of his clothes into the empty set of drawers beside Juno’s bed like he can’t get out of the room fast enough. That doesn’t explain Nureyev dumping the empty backpack on top of the covers, with absolutely no thought given as to where it’s going to go when Nureyev goes to sleep.</p>
<p>Not that Juno cares, of course. It’s just surprising, and Juno doesn’t like surprises.</p>
<p>Nureyev glances at him. “Are you staring at me?”</p>
<p>It’s such a direct question that Juno almost doesn’t process it. Nureyev’s big dark eyes are narrowed, his eyebrows furrowed, leaving a little crease between the two on his otherwise smooth face. He looks kind of like Sasha, now that Juno thinks about it, with dark skin and hair and a flat nose. Not quite the same, not close enough to be related, even, but different from most of the people on Mars. He’s going to stand out. Going to need someone to watch out for him at school.</p>
<p>Juno shakes his head.</p>
<p>“Just waiting for you to get done,” he says. “C’mon. I’ll show you the rest of the apartment.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” says Nureyev. “Thank you, Juno.”</p>
<p>Juno rolls his eyes and leads him out into the hall.<br/>
</p><hr/>
<p><br/>
Those first few weeks are hard.</p>
<p>Nureyev’s still sharp, and that sharpness is still pointed out at all of them, even if it’s disguised by the smooth sheen of Nureyev’s manners. Juno doesn’t leave him alone with Ben ever. He trusts the kid about as far as he can throw him, and yeah, that’s pretty far, but it’s not far enough. </p>
<p>Then again, ‘far enough’ is pretty far when it comes to Ben.</p>
<p>Benten doesn’t like Nureyev. He’s nice to him, sure, but Juno can tell that he doesn’t quite know how to place him, doesn’t know when to let Nureyev push and when to push back, and that makes Ben uncomfortable. Ben doesn’t like it when he can’t see the edges of a person, and maybe Nureyev’s all edges, but he’s keeping as many of them hidden as he can, so Ben hangs back, and Juno hangs with him. He’s not exactly the friendly one of the two of them.</p>
<p>Juno spends his nights on his side, staring at Nureyev’s bed until he can’t keep his eyes open anymore. He’s pretty sure Nureyev isn’t sleeping, either, with all the yawning he does in the mornings, but that’s on Nureyev, not Juno. If Nureyev didn’t have that <i>stupid</i> knife—</p>
<p>Jet can probably tell what’s going on, but he lets them sit in their uncomfortable stalemate without comment. Juno’s not sure if that’s because Jet trusts them to sort it out on their own or if it’s because Nureyev’ll be gone in a month, anyway, once Buddy and Vespa can leave enough false trails for the Brahmese government to last a lifetime, and it isn’t worth the effort of intervening. Either way, Juno appreciates it, if only because it makes breakfast kind of funny—Nureyev, babbling about the food or a weird dream or a funny story his dad (Guardian? Teacher?) used to tell him; Ben, nodding a long and responding stiffly whenever he feels like he has to; and Juno and Jet, shoveling cereal into their mouths in silence. Once, Juno catches Jet doing something with his face that Juno thinks is Jet’s version of a grin. He hides his own grin in the next spoonful of cereal.</p>
<p>Jet takes Nureyev down to the school one day to get him registered for classes, with Buddy calling in to confirm everything. Juno and Ben sit next to Nureyev in the little plastic chairs in the main office. Nureyev’s so shrimpy that his feet dangle a half-inch above the floor. Juno watches as he gives a halfhearted kick, then shakes himself and sits so perfectly still that it’s scary.</p>
<p>“... Mr. Elaine, xe’s a wonderful teacher, and we’ll partner Peter here with little Annie Wire for the day, and that’ll be…”</p>
<p>Nureyev’s getting paler by the second. Juno has the sudden, weird urge to grab his hand. He shakes his head, takes a deep breath, then looks at the kid’s face.</p>
<p>“Annie’s nice,” he says. “She’s my friend Sasha’s sister. She’ll show you around, and then you can come sit with us for lunch.”</p>
<p>Nureyev doesn’t look at him. Juno can’t really tell if he heard, but it’s too late—Jet turns around and beckons for Nureyev to follow the office guy to his new classroom, and Juno grabs Ben’s hand and pulls them back towards the 6th grade wing.</p>
<p>When they get home, Juno braces himself for another night of Nureyev-babble. He gets one, to some extent, but the details about his day are scarce, with more of the focus going to his old school on Brahma (apparently he’d only gone for a few months before they had to leave). Juno leaves him to it. Ben occasionally chimes in with a story about their school. Jet eats his stew.</p>
<p>They cycle through the bathroom that night and then settle down to sleep. Juno takes up the position on his side, even though he prefers sleeping on his stomach. He isn’t staying up all night anymore, but he wants to hear it if Nureyev gets up, and that means he can’t sleep too soundly. Benten presses up against his back like he used to when they were little kids. Nureyev slips into Juno’s old bed without a sound.</p>
<p>Juno’s not entirely sure what wakes him up that night—maybe Benten shifted, or maybe something clattered outside, or maybe Nureyev made a noise—but when he wakes, the first thing he checks is that Benten is safe (he is, and sound asleep) and the second…</p>
<p>Juno sits up just enough to spot Nureyev where he’s half-buried in blankets. He isn’t moving or thrashing, so at first, Juno thinks he’s fine—that is, until he lets out a little whine, quiet and familiar.</p>
<p>Not familiar because he’s heard Nureyev do this before. This is new. Nureyev doesn’t sound like this. Nureyev always sounds like a person holding a knife, never a person with a knife to his throat.</p>
<p>No. It’s familiar because Benten used to make that noise.</p>
<p>Not often. He’d go long stretches without hearing it, months and months where everything would be okay, and then Sarah would scream or throw something or smack Juno so hard he saw stars and Bented would make that noise, like he was too scared to scream, like someone was choking the sound out of him, and it only made Juno want to get up faster, to stand between Benten and Sarah like somehow it would stop that noise forever.</p>
<p>It never did.</p>
<p>Hearing it now, a half-choked sound trapped behind Nureyev’s teeth, Juno wants to stand between Nureyev and whoever scared him into making that sound, to take the hit, to keep him <i>safe.</i></p>
<p>His therapist says he doesn’t need to take the hit anymore, but his body’s still learning that, so Juno just reminds himself that there’s no one here to hit him.</p>
<p>Juno slides out of bed and over to Nureyev’s side, shivering at the cool night air as it hits his bare arms. Outside, Phobos hangs above one of the taller buildings in Old Town, shining in through the window and leaving a square of bright light on the floor.</p>
<p>Nureyev doesn’t move as Juno approaches him. He knows better than to reach out; instead, so quietly even he almost doesn’t hear it, Juno whispers, “Nureyev.”</p>
<p>Nureyev shoots up, his hand flying under his pillow, and Juno stumbles backwards, tripping on nothing and falling to the floor with a thud. Behind him, Ben lets out a confused groan.</p>
<p>Nureyev freezes, the knife in his hand glinting in the moonlight. Juno takes a moment to calm his racing heart—<i>In, one, two, three, hold, one, two, three, out, one, two, three</i>—before saying, “It’s okay, Benten. I tripped. Go back to sleep.” The blankets behind him rustle, and then the room is silent again.</p>
<p>Nureyev stares at Juno, eyes wide, scared in a way Juno’s never seen before. He stays on the ground, silently willing Nureyev to drop the knife. After a moment, Nureyev’s arm falls, though his grip on the knife doesn’t loosen.</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Juno whispers. “You had a nightmare. You’re safe.”</p>
<p>Nureyev snorts, an ugly, inelegant sound, and then laughs under his breath. His usual unbothered expression settles over his features like a blanket, and Juno’s heart sinks.</p>
<p>“Of course,” he mutters. “Sorry to wake you, Juno.”</p>
<p>“Not a problem,” Juno whispers. “I was up anyway.”</p>
<p>Nureyev nods, then tucks the knife back under his pillow and lays down. His hand stays under his pillow as Juno stands up and slips back into bed.</p>
<p>That’s fine. Benten’s safe. That’s all he has to worry about. Nureyev’s nightmares are none of his concern.</p>
<p>Juno doesn’t sleep much that night.<br/>
</p><hr/>
<p><br/>
Nureyev babbles his way through breakfast the next morning, same as always. Juno half-listens, his mind still turning over Nureyev’s behavior from the night before. It’s like a puzzle, and Juno likes puzzles.</p>
<p>He’s still turning it over and over in his mind when Nureyev says, “And then, of course, Mag—”</p>
<p>Juno has never heard Nureyev stop in the middle of a sentence before. He has never spent more than a minute in silence with Nureyev. The two things happening at once is more than a little jarring.</p>
<p>Nureyev’s frozen over his cereal, his hand trembling. No one says anything. Jet doesn’t move, barely <i>breathes,</i> and beside Juno, Ben is frowning. Nureyev’s last words hang in the air like a heavy curtain, weighing down on all of them. </p>
<p>“So sorry,” says Nureyev after an age. “Excuse me.” He bolts from the table into their bedroom, and then from the bedroom to the door. </p>
<p>Benten and Juno don’t catch up to him on the walk to school. When they meet up with Sasha and Annie, Annie promises to keep an eye out for him at school. Mick slings an arm around Ben and says, “Hey, don’t worry. He’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.” He shoots a look at Juno, too, raising an extremely un-subtle eyebrow. Juno just shrugs. </p>
<p>It’s a nice walk. Someone must have installed new filters on the nearby air filtration system, because the dome’s air is fresher than usual, if a bit cool. Juno shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and inhales deeply.</p>
<p>School, as usual, is boring. Juno likes his language arts class, despises his computer class, sits next to Mick and helps him in math—it’s a pretty normal morning, all things considered. When they announce that the air quality index is low enough to eat lunch outside, half the class cheers, including Mick. Juno’s too worried to celebrate, but he manages a smile. </p>
<p>He and Mick meet up with Benten outside. They find Sasha and Annie sitting on the curb munching on matching peanut butter sandwiches.</p>
<p>“Did you find him?” Juno asks Annie as he sits.</p>
<p>She nods. “He was in class,” she says. “He went to go buy lunch.”</p>
<p>Benten nods. He hadn’t stuck around long enough to grab lunch. Benten opens his lunchbox and begins nibbling on cheese crackers. Juno skips straight to the akutaq Jet made last night while Mick begins telling a story about his new bike.</p>
<p>“... so I made a ramp, but it turns out aluminum cans are really weak, so…”</p>
<p>“Hey, do you guys see that?” Annie asks.</p>
<p>Juno turns toward the corner of the yard where she’s pointing to see a crowd forming, getting louder every second.</p>
<p>“A fight?” Sasha asks, swallowing a bite of her sandwich.</p>
<p>“Shit,” Juno mutters.</p>
<p>“You think it’s him?” Ben asks.</p>
<p>“Just a hunch,” says Juno, setting his lunch aside and standing. “And if it’s him, he definitely has that stupid knife.”</p>
<p>“Damn,” Sasha mutters. “Annie, stay here.”</p>
<p>“What? That’s bullshit!”</p>
<p>Sasha stands. “Mick will hang out with you.”</p>
<p>“I will?”</p>
<p>“How many detentions do you have already?”</p>
<p>“Fair.”</p>
<p>“Ben, you go get a teacher.”</p>
<p>“On it.”</p>
<p>Juno glances at Sasha. She nods. He nods back.</p>
<p>They sprint toward the crowd at full speed, diving into its fringes without hesitation. Sasha goes right, so Juno heads left, figuring they might have to pull some unfortunate nine-year-old away from Nureyev.</p>
<p>Except it’s worse than Juno imagined. In the center of the circle are four people, three of whom are in Juno’s class. The fourth is Nureyev, and, like Juno expected, he’s holding his knife, and he looks ready to use it. </p>
<p>One of the kids in Juno’s class, a short, stocky asshole named Jay, sports a matching bruise, as well as one on his chin. Next to him is Hayoon, a tall girl with buzzed hair. Juno’s never seen her fight before, but from the way she holds the third kid’s arm, a girl named Kim, she got pulled into the fight trying to prevent it from happening. Hayoon’s other arm is wrapped protectively around her ribs, and Kim’s got a long, thin line of blood running down her cheek.</p>
<p>So Nureyev can hold his own. Not a surprise, exactly, but good to know. </p>
<p>Juno’s coming up behind Nureyev, so he lets out a loud “Hey!” to let him know he’s there. Nureyev's shoulders stiffen, but he doesn’t turn. Good on him.</p>
<p>“Mr. Elaine is on the way over, so if you don’t want to get suspended, you’ll wanna run,” Juno shouts. That’s enough to disperse about half the crowd, and enough to send Jay running after them. That is, until he runs directly into Sasha, who grabs him around the shoulders and holds him there.</p>
<p>“He started it!” Kim shouts.</p>
<p>“He did call her a megaheiffer,” Hayoon explains, meeting Juno’s eye and shrugging. “And pull a knife.”</p>
<p>“Three of you against one of him? If he hadn’t pulled a knife, I’d say he was an idiot,” says Juno, stepping around Nureyev to stand in front of him.</p>
<p>“I just shoved him,” Kim spits. “Fucking <i>terrorist.</i> ”</p>
<p>Nureyev lunges forward, and Juno grabs his arm. “Fuck off,” he says to Kim. “If you say that shit again, I’ll kick your ass.”</p>
<p>Kim opens her mouth, but then shuts it again. Hayoon nods at Juno, her fingers digging into Kim’s arm. Juno drags Nureyev away from them both as quickly as he can even as Nureyev struggles against his grip.</p>
<p>As soon as he gets Nureyev inside, he drops his arm. Nureyev scrambles away from him, backing up until his back hits the wall to Juno’s left. Juno raises an eyebrow and waits, keeping an eye on Nureyev’s knife.</p>
<p>“You’re gonna want to drop that soon,” he says. “If a teacher catches you with it, you’re screwed.”</p>
<p>“I don’t care about detention,” Nureyev spits.</p>
<p>“No, but you care about Buddy, and she’ll be disappointed if you get kicked out. And trust me, you don’t wanna be stuck on the other side of Buddy’s disappointed face.”</p>
<p>“I don’t care about Buddy, either!”</p>
<p>Juno lets Nureyev’s voice echo down the hallway. After a moment, he meets Juno’s eye for the first time since the night before. What he sees, Juno doesn’t know, but his shoulders drop about an inch, and the knife comes down to his side.</p>
<p>“I shouldn’t be here,” he says.</p>
<p>“Maybe not,” says Juno. “You’re here, though. Why?”</p>
<p>Nureyev shakes his head. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to. You might want to.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>Juno takes a deep breath. “Because when I got pulled out of my mom’s house, I was angry, too. Not because I wanted to go back to my mom—she was awful—but because they took Benten away, and because I didn’t trust any of the foster families they put me with, and because I was just angry at the whole world. I don’t know. Jet helped, and so did Rita, and obviously getting Ben back, and then they made me go to therapy, and that helped, too, because somebody actually listened to me. I’m not a therapist, but I can listen, if you want. I probably can’t help much, but talking might help, and if you don’t wanna talk to Jet or Buddy or Vespa or, hell, Ben, you can talk to me.”</p>
<p>Nureyev stares. Juno stares right back. He’s not sure if he’s being challenged or evaluated, but he’s not going to be the first person to break eye contact.</p>
<p>“She called me a terrorist,” Nureyev says after a second.</p>
<p>Juno winces. “Yeah,” he says. “Sasha's gotten that one, too. It's because of the war.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Nureyev snaps. Then he pauses, takes a deep breath, and looks at the floor. “That’s how Mag—That’s how they caught Mag and the others.”</p>
<p>Juno knew that Nureyev’s guardian was a member of the Brahmese resistance, and that he didn’t make it when Buddy and Vespa smuggled Nureyev off-planet, but that’s all. Nureyev hasn’t said anything about it since he got here, which is sort of impressive considering the amount of talking he’s done.</p>
<p>“Brahma’s one of the largest Outer Rim planets,” Nureyev says, doing that weird Sasha-on-the-phone grown-up voice he did when he first got to Mars. “It has a larger population than the populations of every Kuiper planetoid combined, and it’s the last planet before the Oort Cloud. 99% of the planet’s population lives on the surface, where there are power shortages, which means there’s no heat, or water, or even fresh air, sometimes for days on end. If people are lucky, they work two or three jobs to make ends meet to rent a small apartment or house. If they’re unlucky, they live on the streets. The surface is covered in cameras, and there are police everywhere, but they pale in comparison to the Guardian Angel System, a collection of precise laser cannons that will instantly kill anyone committing a serious offence.</p>
<p>“The last 1% of the population lives on New Kinshasa, a city that floats above the rest of the planet. That 1% owns 99.999% of all the wealth on Brahma, and 99% of that wealth is held by the top .0001%. The government of New Kinshasa presides over the entire planet, but it is elected only by the citizens of New Kinshasa, most of which are originally from the Solar planets.</p>
<p>“Mag picked me up off the street as a child. He raised me as part of the resistance. He wanted to take down New Kinshasa, to make Brahma a democracy again. The resistance wanted to redistribute New Kinshasa’s wealth to the rest of the planet, and to declare Brahma’s independence from the Solar planets and join a new Outer Rim government.”</p>
<p>He pauses. “Mag had designed an electromagnetic bomb,” he explains, “that would disable New Kinshasa’s power supply temporarily. When the resistance was infiltrated by New Kinshasan police, they were meeting to debate the bomb’s utility for the resistance as a whole. They were also debating how long the power supply should be cut off. Mag wanted to cut it off indefinitely and use it as leverage in negotiations. Some of the resistance supported him; others didn’t believe it was fair to deprive New Kinshasa of power for that long, even though New Kinshasa didn’t care whether the surface lost power for weeks or months, so long as Brahmese workers were able to function. They were still debating when the police stormed the meeting.</p>
<p>“I managed to hide, but I don’t know if anyone else survived. That’s not what matters, though. I… I saw the plans for the bomb. It would have been devastating. And then, when I was on the ship with Buddy and Vespa, I heard them talking about it. Mag hadn’t said anything about it, but the bomb would have completely eliminated the engines that kept New Kinshasa in the sky. If he had used it, even for an hour, New Kinshasa would have fallen, and everyone on it would have died, even children, or Brahmese workers.”</p>
<p>“And it would have killed people when it hit the surface,” Juno says, realizing the magnitude of what Nureyev’s just told him. “Wow.”</p>
<p>Nureyev’s jaw sets. “I didn’t know,” he says. “No one did. Mag couldn’t have known, either. He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t have killed millions of Brahmese people—his friends, his neighbors— He didn’t know. New Kinshasa’s engine is complicated, and—”</p>
<p>“Hey,” says Juno. “It’s okay. I believe you.”</p>
<p>“He was a revolutionary,” says Nureyev. “A freedom fighter, not a terrorist. New Kinshasa is oppressing the Brahmese people <i>right now,</i> and I’m <i>stuck</i> here, <i>useless.</i>”</p>
<p>“No offense, Nureyev, but you’re a kid,” says Juno. “If the resistance can’t make it without you, then it’s not much of a resistance.” Nureyev glares at him and opens his mouth to speak, but Juno beats him to it. “Nuh-uh. Hey. My turn.</p>
<p>“I was so mad when they took Benten. It was my job to protect him, and then I got hurt, and they took him away, and I thought I let him down. I still kind of feel that way, honestly, even though my therapist says that’s because neither of us were safe with my mom, and that was my way of coping.</p>
<p>“You’re a kid. The shitty thing about being a kid is that you don’t have any power. The nice thing about living with Jet is that he’s the one in charge of keeping us safe, so Ben and I just have to focus on being kids and doing kid stuff, like school and hanging out with friends and not getting into knife fights. </p>
<p>“You don’t have to single-handedly liberate Brahma. You’re nine. You have to brush your teeth, you have to do your homework, and you have to <i>not get into knife fights.</i>”</p>
<p>“They need my help,” says Nureyev.</p>
<p>“Someday, yeah,” says Juno. “But right now, you can’t really do anything about it, and it really sucks, and I’m sorry. And for the record, you probably shouldn’t have been roped into doing any of that stuff anyway. You’re a kid.”</p>
<p>Nureyev shoves his hands (and knife, thankfully) in his pockets. “I don’t expect you to understand,” he says. </p>
<p>Juno shrugs. “Guess I don’t,” he says. “Either way, maybe try not bringing the knife to school? I don’t care if you keep it in our room, but if you get kicked out of here…”</p>
<p>“I am aware of Buddy’s ‘disappointed face,’” Nureyev says, rolling his eyes.</p>
<p>“Cool. So we’re on the same page.”</p>
<p>Nureyev hesitates, then sighs loudly and theatrically. “I suppose.”</p>
<p>“Okay. I’m going back to class. You should, too, before you—”</p>
<p>“End up in detention, I know.” He nods and turns to leave. Juno follows him to the end of the hall.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Nureyev says, quiet enough that at first, Juno thinks he’s mishearing. “For stopping the fight.”</p>
<p>“Any time,” says Juno, and then, “but please don’t get in more fights.”</p>
<p>Nureyev shrugs. “We’ll see,” he says, before turning and walking off towards his classroom.</p>
<p>Juno laughs. <i>Fair enough.</i><br/>
</p><hr/>
<p><br/>
“Found it!” Ben shouts, emerging from under his bed with a small, silky shirt.</p>
<p>Nureyev grabs it from him with a small smile. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>“Is that it?” Vespa asks from the doorway. “You got everything, squirt?”</p>
<p>“<i>Squirt?</i>” Juno asks.</p>
<p>Nureyev looks vaguely horrified, but he doesn’t protest. “That’s everything,” he says. He turns back towards Juno and Ben, who both stand by the window. “Thank you for helping me look.”</p>
<p>“You’re such a slob,” says Benten, his voice light and teasing.</p>
<p>It’s still a bit weird, but Nureyev and Ben have been getting along a lot better over the past couple of weeks. Juno’s finally letting himself sleep on his stomach again. He’s pretty sure the knife has stayed under Nureyev’s pillow since his fight. Juno would prefer it stayed in a drawer, but that’s fine. Baby steps, or something.</p>
<p>As Nureyev and Vespa head out into the kitchen, Buddy greets them both with a hug. Nureyev accepts it, though somewhat stiffly, and turns toward Jet.</p>
<p>“Thank you for having me,” he says in his grown-up voice.</p>
<p>“It was no bother,” says Jet. “You are always welcome here.”</p>
<p>“And we’ll see you at school and stuff,” Ben adds. “And we can hang out on the weekend.”</p>
<p>“You’re always welcome at our place, as well,” says Buddy to the three of them, “but you already know that. Now come on, darlings—I’ve been promised a real Rangian roast tonight, and I don’t want to miss it.”</p>
<p>Nureyev gives Ben and Juno a shy wave. “Goodbye,” he says.</p>
<p>“Bye!” Ben shouts. </p>
<p>“See ya,” says Juno.</p>
<p>Vespa holds the door open. Buddy and Nureyev walk through, and she follows them, and then the door swings shut.</p>
<p>The apartment is quiet again.</p>
<p>Juno sighs, leaning back against the wall. Ben grins at him.</p>
<p>“Cheer up, Super Steel. You’ll see him at school tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“I don’t need to cheer up,” Juno protests. “I don’t care. I’m just glad I get my bed back.”</p>
<p>“Sure you are,” says Ben. “Hey, Jet, can we invite Rita over for a stream night?”</p>
<p>Jet stares at him for a moment. “Have you done your homework?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>“Juno?”</p>
<p>“Uh, sure.”</p>
<p>“Do your homework.”</p>
<p>Juno lets out a loud sigh. “<i>Fiiiiiine.</i>”</p>
<p>“Can we still have a stream night?” Ben asks.</p>
<p>“Yes. I will call Rita.”</p>
<p>“Yessssss!”</p>
<p>Juno heads back into the bedroom to grab his backpack. He glances at his bed, neatly-made by Jet after washing the sheets this morning. It’s perfect, all hospital corners and smooth fabric, except…</p>
<p>Except for a small square of paper in the middle with his name written on top.</p>
<p>Juno glances back at the door. Ben’s switching the TV on, and Jet’s on his comms. No one’s paying attention.</p>
<p>He grabs the piece of paper carefully, as though it will vanish as soon as his fingers come into contact with it. It doesn’t, obviously, so Juno unfolds it carefully, revealing Nureyev’s blocky handwriting.</p>
<p>
  <i>Dear Juno,</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Thank you for everything. You helped me alot. I don’t know how to ever repay you. I am so exited to live with Buddy and Vespa and see you at school.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Your friend,<br/>
Peter Nureyev</i>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ben and Juno both faced past abuse at the hands of their mom, and this is referenced explicitly in the text at multiple points.</p>
<p>Peter gets into a fight with some other kids at school and draws blood. One of the kids calls him a "terrorist," a reference to the fact that he is from the Outer Rim. To avoid this section, skip from "They sprint toward the crowd at full speed" to "As soon as he gets Nureyev inside."</p></blockquote></div></div>
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